200. Ireland partitioned

200. Ireland partitioned

Would Britain go to war in Ireland? Was military action its only available response to the republican party, Sinn Fein, and its determination to govern an independent nation from its own parliament, the Dáil? And, indeed, was it in Britain’s power to go for that option?

At first, that certainly seemed to be the way things were heading. Attacks by IRA units against the police or army led to increasingly brutal reprisals by the British authorities, using the notorious Black and Tans or the Auxies, as well as soldiers. Two of the most shocking events were the firing on the crowd at a Gaelic Football stadium on ‘Bloody Sunday’, 21 November 1920, and the burning of Cork the following month.

In the end though, the Lloyd Government had to decide that it lacked either the strength or the stomach to force the Irish to bow to their rule. The earlier decision never to negotiate with terrorists had to be dropped and, in the summer and autumn of 1921, discussions finally led to what Lloyd George believed was a triumph of his negotiating skills. He won the agreement of leading Sinn Fein men to a Peace Treaty that partitioned Ireland, hiving off the six Protestant-majority counties of the North which would remain inside the United Kingdom, while the other 26 would form a new Dominion, the Irish Free State, within the British Empire.

It seemed like a triumph for him. But that feeling wasn’t going to last long.


Illustration: Workers clearing rubble on St Patrick's Street in Cork after the fires (detail). National Library of Ireland on The Commons @Flickr Commons

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.


Jaksot(274)

233. Shocks and surprises at the war’s end

233. Shocks and surprises at the war’s end

Following the German surrender in May 1945, the ‘Big Three’ – the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain – met for the third and last time in conference. And this time, appropriately, they met on...

2 Maalis 202514min

232. Bickering allies win in Europe

232. Bickering allies win in Europe

At the Yalta conference, between the US, the Soviet Union and Britain, the tensions between the Allies became increasingly obvious. Representing Britain, Churchill wanted the Allies’ war effort to be ...

23 Helmi 202514min

231. Nazis facing defeat

231. Nazis facing defeat

By the time of the Yalta conference in February 1945, between the USA, Soviet Union and Britain, the latter still being treated as a great power though its decline was already clear, there could be li...

16 Helmi 202514min

230. From Husky to Overlord, Sicily to the D-Day beaches

230. From Husky to Overlord, Sicily to the D-Day beaches

In 1943, Britain didn’t feel the Western Allies were ready yet for an invasion of France, and with its influence at the highest point it ever reached, it was able to persuade the Americans reluctantly...

9 Helmi 202514min

229. The tide turns

229. The tide turns

The tide turned against the Axis and in favour of the Allies in the course of 1943. Victories at Stalingrad in Russia, in the Battle of the Atlantic, and in North Africa, came on top of American advan...

2 Helmi 202514min

228. Turning points: 1943

228. Turning points: 1943

This is an episode for turning points. The year’s 1943. The Battle of Stalingrad, where the unstoppable German offensive into Russia was finally stopped and turned around, with Soviet forces essentia...

26 Tammi 202514min

227. Tough times: 1941 and 1942

227. Tough times: 1941 and 1942

The years 1941 and 1942 were tough ones… Things were going badly in the Battle of the Atlantic, with Germany threatening to strangle Britain by sinking more merchant ships than the British could bear ...

19 Tammi 202514min

226. Britain rescued by its enemies

226. Britain rescued by its enemies

Hitler, feeling himself obliged to help out his inept ally Mussolini, was dragged into two wars the Italian dictator had started but lacked the resources to prosecute to victory: in North Africa and i...

12 Tammi 202514min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mayday-fi
huijarit
mystista
rss-ikiuni
tsunami
konginkangas
totuus-vai-salaliitto
rouva-diktaattori
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
rss-peter-peter
rss-sattuu-sita-suomessakin
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
historiaa-suomeksi
rss-kirkon-ihmeellisimmat-tarinat
maailmanpuu
apinan-vuosi
tiedetta-ja-sirkushuveja-vanhojen-aikojen-podcast